Evergreen and wood smoke
by Autumn-is-beautiful
Summary: First fan fic ever. A new ninja tracker comes to Konoha, and insults Tsunade before taking the tracking test. Kiba's orders: make the test impossible for her. But what if she doesn't flunk? Rated T because I'm not sure.  Read and Review please.
1. test day

Disclaimer: I do not own naruto. If I did, I would not have to write fan fiction.

Chapter 1

Kiba swallowed hard. It was never good when the Hokage wanted you in her office ASAP, and no one else was being summoned. Akamaru, sensing his master's distress, pressed himself against Kiba's legs. One last breath in, and he knocked on the door. "Come in!" Tsunade demanded. Kiba walked over to her desk, one hand stuffed in his pocket, one hand on Akamaru. "What do you know about the Akatani clan?"

"Huh?" Kiba's mind scrambled. This was not what he had expected the Hokage to be saying. "The Akatani and the Inuzuka were once one clan, a long time ago, but the Akatani split off to focus on tracking to the exclusion of the Ninjutsu that the Inuzuka use with our dogs. They live on the border, and don't really think of themselves as part of Konoha"

"Well one of them is coming here; she says she wants to become a Konoha ninja tracker. Your assignment is to design a test for her. Do _not_ make it easy. The trail you lay out should be so difficult to follow that you and Akamaru would struggle greatly with it, and set booby traps along the way. If she wants to be a Konoha tracker, she will have to work damn hard at it, just like every other ninja did. Understand?"

Gulp. "Yes."

"You have three days; that should be enough time for the scents to fade. Dismissed."

. . .

Kiba wiped sweat from his forehead as he surveyed his test with satisfaction. Booby traps? Check. Very faint scent that traveled through running water, jumped from tree to tree, over bare rock and doubled back on itself? Check.

"Oi." Kiba turned around to find Kakashi and Pakkun (his nija tracking dog). "Tsunade sent us to check your test and make sure it's hard enough. That girl must have really made her mad. She told me to make sure it's all but impossible."

Kiba gestured to his test. "Ready Pakkun?" The dog didn't deign to reply, just sat expectantly, looking at Kiba. "Oh. You need the scent. You're following my trail." Pakkun put his nose to the ground followed it off.

3 hours later, Pakkun arrived at the end of the course. "You did a good job of making it impossible pup." He told Kiba. Kakashi didn't even look up from his book. Kiba set off to reset the traps, and Pakkun left to wander over the course, spreading his smell so that the girl couldn't just follow the dog's scent.

_She should be here soon _Kiba thought, squinting at the sun. He settled under a tree to wait for her. 20 minutes later, a girl about his age came up the path and halted, looking the boy and his dog over. She was a little on the short side, about 5'3". Her long black hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and then braided. Her eyes appeared black from where she stood in the shadows, but as she finished her inspection of Kiba and stepped into the sunlight he could see that they were actually a deep forest green. Her clothing was practical: brown pants, black ninja sandals, and mottled green/gray shirt that blended in with the forest. The dog that stood beside her was as tall as Akamaru, but with a slenderer build and was a dark gray in color.

"Are you the designer of my test?"

"Yeah. Inuzuka Kiba." He said, sticking out his hand to shake.

She took it cautiously. "Akatani Nira. And this is Kea." She said inclining her head to the dog next to her.

"This is Akamaru."

"He's a good-looking dog." She admitted. "When do I start?"

"Shouldn't you learn the rules first?"

"Let me guess: follow the scent I'm given, avoid booby traps."

"Yeah, that's pretty much it. It's timed though."

"So where's the scent?" Kiba held out an old shirt of his. _Evergreen and wood smoke. I like his scent. _She quirked an eyebrow. "I'm supposed to be tracking you?" _. _

"Yeah."

"See ya at the finish line." She called over her shoulder as she followed Kea into the forest.

Kiba settled under a tree with a screen showing the views each of the cameras placed in the test showed. He expanded the image from Camera 1: the first trap set on the trail.

Nira paused in front of the tiny clearing with a puddle in it. _There hasn't been rain for a week and the puddle is in full sunlight. It's a trap. _Nira tossed a rock next to the puddle. The puddle didn't respond. "At least you were smart enough to make the trap only reactive to a heavier weight than the rock." She told the camera. She made a hand sign to Kea, and they split up, going opposite ways in a large circle around the clearing, noses to the ground. Nira paused in her loop, then turned her head up to look up into the leaves of the tree above her. She poured chakra into her hands and feet, continuing up the tree with her nose to the trunk. At the top of the tree, she pulled out a dog whistle, and Kea came loping up. Nira sent 4 chakra filaments down the trunk, one stuck to each of Kea's paws, allowing the dog to climb the tree as Nira did. They left the field of view of the camera following the scent through the tops of the trees.

Kiba was still staring at the screen with Akamaru. He turned to his dog. "Did you have any clue Nira's nose was good enough to pick up that faint of a scent in a tree while she was on the ground?" Akamaru shook his head. "Her nose is even better than mine," he thought, rubbing his nose. "I probably wouldn't have been able to pick that up. I'd have had to wait for you." He mused rubbing Akamaru's ears. Still thinking he minimized Camera 1 and opened Camera 2. There was no one on the screen. _Huh? Did she go the wrong way? She couldn't have gotten past my trap this fast!_ But the hundred or so kunai scattered in the area told a different story. He hurriedly clicked to Camera 3 to see the pair approaching trap three unscathed. _So much for making this test difficult for her. But she won't get past this test._ He smirked, feeling proud of the ingenuity of his next trap. He had asked his friend Shino for help with this one. _The chakra-sucking bugs will definitely take her out._ He had stuck the female of the species on her when he shook her hand. The males will be here any minute.

Little did he know that Kea had smelled the female, whose scent was so faint that even Akamaru couldn't detect it unless he knew he was supposed to be looking for it. Nira had paused between the second and third camera and had placed the female in a small piece of netting. She knew better than to kill the chakra-sucking bugs and incur the wrath of the Aburame clan. She sighed. _His test is way too easy. _Kea's sensitive ears picked up the sound of approaching bug wings and she barked. "They're coming from the west?" Nira ran towards the bugs, nailed the net the female was in to a tree with a kunai, then ran back east to where the scent lay.

Kiba's jaw dropped in amazement. _How did she know that she had the female on her?_ His confusion turned to annoyance as Nira walked up to the camera and smirked. "Nice try dog boy, but if you ever set bugs on me again, I'll kill you. Painfully. I don't like bugs."

_I guess it was a good thing that I was paranoid and set traps after the bugs._ Kiba thought.

Camera 4: Nira sneezed and rubbed her itching nose. _Genjutsu_ she realized, eyes narrowing. _My nose always itches in a Genjutsu_. So far it looked just like the rest of the forest, but she wasn't going to wait around and find out what was planned out for her. She whispered release and momentarily cut off the chakra to her brain. Now she had a headache, but she was free of the Genjutsu.

_How could she even tell she was in a Genjutsu already?_ Kiba wondered. He shook his head. He hadn't thought she stood a chance against his test, and Kakashi and Tsunade had agreed, but it looked like she was going to pass despite his best efforts.

Camera 5: Kiba watched as Nira and Kea approached the last trap: one of Naruto's shadow clones transformed to look like Kiba placed directly on the trail of the scent. The clone waved to her, grinning and yelled to her that she had passed the test, but Nira was suspicious. The trail led right to him, and Kiba's scent was coming to her clearly: evergreen and a hint of wood smoke, but something was missing. _I smell Kiba's scent, but I don't smell face paint any more. He still has red triangles on his cheeks. I should smell paint._ She approached the clone, pretending she hadn't noticed anything, but when he held out his hand to her, she shook it then sent her chakra to her feet and pushed herself backwards as hard as she could, just avoiding the explosion of the paper bomb hidden on the clone.

She skirted the crater to find the real Kiba just beyond, looking sheepish that she had passed. She paused in front of him, breathing a little hard after running the course and avoiding the explosion. "How was my time?"

"1 hour, 21 minutes. You passed." He held out his hand for her to shake, and she stood her ground, asking suspiciously "Are you going to blow up too?"

"Nah. That was just one of Naruto's shadow clones transformed to look like me and wearing my clothes."

"And no more chakra-sucking bugs?"

"No bugs."

She took a big breath in. "I can smell your face paint this time, so it probably is you and not just a clone." She was still cautious as she shook his hand.

"I still can't believe you passed my test. Tsunade made me make it just about impossible. What did you do to tick her off so bad?"

"The smell of sake in there was overwhelming. I asked Shizune why an old drunk was Hokage, but Tsunade came in at that moment." She said ruefully.

Kiba laughed, amusement dancing in his eyes. "The smell of sake in there makes my head reel, and your sense of smell is even better than mine."

"Can I come with you when you tell her I passed? I bet it'll be funny." Nira pleaded.

Kiba stared at her "You want to see the Hokage mad? Do you have a death wish or something?"

Nira grinned. "I promise I won't insult her again."

"Oh. All right. I was going to go there anyways. If you want to die, that's your problem." He headed off, but not in the direction Nira was expecting.

"Aren't you going to see the Hokage?"

"There's a shortcut this way."

Nira shrugged and followed Kiba and Akamaru.


	2. tunnels and BBQ

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

"The shortcut is a tunnel?" Nira asked, a slight quaver in her voice.

"What? Is the all-powerful tracker afraid of the big bad shortcut?" Kiba teased. When she didn't reply, he turned around and caught a strong whiff of fear. "What's wrong Nira?"

"I-It's a tunnel. A r-really small one."

"Nira, are you claustrophobic?" Kiba asked, concern coloring his words.

"Don't make me go in there! I promise I'll be good!" Nira pleaded, her eyes unfocused and looking past him, as if she was caught in a memory.

Kiba took her arm and gently led her away from the tunnel. He sat her down under a tree out of sight of the tunnel. _I've never been good with women, or with comforting people. _He put his arm around her awkwardly and mumbled "It's okay, I won't make you go in the tunnel. It's going to be alright" while the dogs pressed themselves comfortingly against her.

"When Nira calmed down, she realized that Kiba had his arm about her, and she was curled up in a ball and pressed against his side. Akamaru was licking her face. "That tickles Akamaru."

"Are you all right now?" asked a worried Kiba.

"I'll be alright." She mumbled. Kiba removed his arm and stood up, offering her a hand up which she gratefully accepted.

"Do you still want to go with me to see the Hokage?"

"I should apologize if I'm going to be staying in the leaf village." She wiped the tears from her face, turning in the non-shortcut direction to the Hokage. "Shall we go?"

. . .

_She may be disrespectful, but she is definitely talented. _The Hokage thought, watching the recordings from the cameras in the forest where the test took place.

In answer to the hesitant knock on her door, she called "Come in." In stepped Kiba and Nira, both of whom looked nervous. Tsunade's lips tried to quirk at their expressions but she smoothed them out and looked at the both of them until they started to fidget.

"She passed my test."

When Tsunade didn't respond, Nira said "I'm sorry Tsunade-sama about calling you an old drunk, but the stench of sake was making my head reel."

"That's not really an apology."

"I _was_ going to apologize, but then I smelled the sake in your mug, masquerading as tea, and figured, why apologize if I was right?"

Shizune gasped, and Kiba cringed, before grabbing Nira's hand, and dragging her out of there as fast as possible, before Tsunade killed them. Rubble that had been part of the Hokage tower followed them out.

"No doubt about it. You're suicidal." Kiba muttered.

"So where do you go to get some good food around here?" Nira asked, changing the subject.

"Naruto would be shouting that Ichiraku Ramen is the best, but most everybody else like the BBQ place in town better."

"BBQ sounds good."

"Some of my friends were supposed to get back from their missions today. They might be at there. C'mon. It's this way," he said, taking her arm and turning her down a side street.

At the BBQ place, Kiba led Nira over to a table at the back and introduced his friends: Hinata, Shino, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Temari. Nira ended up sitting between Temari and Kiba, with Akamaru and Kea sprawled under the table.

"Hey. Dog boy. You introduced us to her, but are you going to introduce her to us?" Shikamaru, who was on the other side of Temari asked.

"Oh. Um. This is Akatani Nira. She's the one who had to take the tracking test that Tsunade made me make impossible. But she passed."

"How did you do that?"

Kiba and Nira took turns explaining what happened during the test. Shino interrupted when they were explaining how Nira escaped the bugs. "You could smell the female?"

"I couldn't, but Kea could." Kea's tail thumped the ground.

"Impressive. Her nose must even be better than Akamaru's."

When they got to the part about Nira threatening to kill Kiba if he ever set bugs on her again, everyone was laughing (except Shino of course). "So apparently it's okay if I try to blow her up with paper bombs, just as long as it's not bugs," Kiba joked. Nira elbowed him.

Their food arrived, and Kiba whispered in her ear "Whatever you do, don't take the last piece, Chouji is very possessive about it."

They ate without much chatter until Shikamaru mused "Akatani. I'm not familiar with that clan.'

She explained how her clan had split from the Inuzuka, then hurriedly asked "So what does your clan specialize in?" She knew about the Nara's shaddow jutsu, but the topic of her own clan was one that she desperately wanted to avoid.

To her relief, Shikamaru launched into an explanation of Shaddow Possession. After a couple minutes of interupted lecture, Temari bopped him on the head. "Pineapple-head. I think she gets it already."

"Troublesome woman." he muttered.

"What did you say?" Temari asked with a dangerous glint in her eye.

Seeing the look in Temari's eyes, Shikamaru realized his best response was "It was nothing."

"Temari eyed him suspiciously, but let it slide. "So why did you decide to come to the Hidden Leaf Village?" she asked Nira.

She shrugged. "There weren't many interesting tracking missions back home." This wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the main reason she had come here. Luckily Temari bought it, and the evening continued with the ninja of Konoha and Nira exchanging stories of tracking missions.

When Nira yawned, Temari asked her where she was staying. Nira looked down and mumbled something. "What was that?" Temari asked.

"I said I would probably camp out in the forest for a while until I find a landlord that I can bribe to let Kea stay with me. There's got to be one, right?"

Kiba opened his mouth to say that she could stay at his house, but Temari noticed him opening his mouth and hurriedly said "You can stay in my apartment complex."

"Your landlord allows dogs?"

No, but he's scared to death of me, so if I ask for you, he won't say no." she grinned wolfishly.

"Thanks Temari!"

"I have to leave early tomorrow morning for a mission, so maybe someone else could show you around the village." Temari said, looking pointedly at Kiba. She'd have to be an idiot not to see that Kiba liked the new girl. She was pretty, smart, spunky, and loved dogs as much as he did.

"Akamaru and I can show you the dog park and the rest of the village tomorrow if you want."

"That would be nice." Nira smiled. She was glad the lighting wasn't too bright, or everyone would be able to see the pink tint to her cheeks. _It was sweet of him to offer to show me around._

Temari stood up. "Since I'm off early, I going to head home. Shall we see if we can bully my landlord into letting Kea stay?" she asked Nira.

Kiba slid out of the booth so that Nira and Temari could get out. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thanks."

When the girls had departed, Shikamaru poked Kiba and said "You like that new girl."

Kiba blushed slightly. "Is it that obvious?"

"About as obvious as your face paint" put in Chouji.

"Humph."

To Jennku: Thank you for being my first reader. It meant a lot to me. Though she sometimes doesn't act like it, Nira is in her late teens. Kea is younger, she was given as a puppy to Nira when she passed her clan's tracking test (the equivalent of graduation from the academy in Konoha).


	3. introductions

Disclaimer: do not own Naruto, but Nira and Kea are a product of my brain on sugar

* * *

><p>Nira woke to the sunlight beginning to peek through her window as the sun rose above the horizon. She stretched, careful not disturb Kea who was sleeping at the foot of her bed. <em>It's nice to sleep in a bed again. <em>She sat up. Kea lifted her head sleepily to see her mistress staring out the window, thinking about yesterday. _Uh oh. Kiba didn't say what time he would be coming…I wonder if I have time to go to the market and get breakfast food and dog food? He probably wouldn't be here this early, and I can leave a note on the door in case he comes while I'm gone. _"C'mon Kea, want some breakfast?"

_I have to remember which apartment complex is mine. They all look the same, but they don't quite smell the same. In mine, there is someone who uses way too much cologne and has a window open. I should be able to remember that. _

After returning with breakfast and dog food, Nira ate and unpacked. Since Kiba still hadn't arrived, she decided to brush Kea. When she was about half-way done, a knock came at the door. "Come in."

"I'm glad I didn't wake you. I didn't want to come too early, since I forgot to ask when I should come."

"That's alright. Can I just finish brushing Kea before we go?"

Kiba watched her as she finished brushing the dog. _Her hair really shines when it catches the light. No. Stop thinking like that. _Kiba reprimanded himself. _You only met her yesterday. _

Nira finished combing the last few tangles out and stood up. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah. Have you had breakfast already?"

"Yeah. I found the market using my nose. The harder part was remembering which apartment complex is mine. Luckily Cologne Man lives keeps his window open."

"Cologne Man?"

"Yeah, some guy here uses _way_ too much. That's how I found my apartment this morning."

He laughed. "Do you have any ideas on where you want to visit first in Konoha?"

"No. I'll leave that up to you."

He gave her the generic tour, then brought her to his favorite spot to train with Akamaru. "What are the huge gouges in the ground and rocks?"

"We'll show you." Said Kiba, happy for a chance to show off.

"Akamaru, man-beast clone! Fang over Fang!"

Nira watched wide-eyed as the boys shredded the hill in front of them. Then Kiba and Akamaru reappeared in front of her in their true forms. "That was awesome! To think this is what my family gave up to concentrate on tracking."

Kiba blushed and looked at the ground. When he looked up, Nira was looking out over the trees, lost in thought. Kiba's stomach growling brought them both back to reality. Kiba suggested "Hey, Nira. Want to eat at my house? My mom's a pretty good cook, and you can meet the rest of the Inuzuka clan."

"Sure." But on the inside she was worrying _what if his family doesn't like me?_

"C'mon." He grabbed her hand and led her towards his house.

_We must be nearing his house. I smell dogs. _"This is it." He proclaimed. He opened the door and called "Can Nira have lunch with us?"

"Sure" came the reply from the same direction as the mouthwatering aromas.

A tall young woman, maybe 4 or 5 years older than Kiba came over to greet us. "Hey, Kiba, introduce me to your girlfriend."

_Girlfriend?_ We both turned bright red as we realized that Kiba had never let go of my hand after dragging me to his house and jumped apart.

"You two are so cute. And who is this pretty girl?" she asked, peering around us to look at Kea, who wagged her tail slowly.

"I'm Kea. And the beet-red one is Nira." Kea barked. I had forgotten that the Inuzukas could also understand dog.

Kiba finally realized that he should probably be doing introductions. "This is my sister, and this is my mom," he said gesturing to the older woman who had just walked into the room. "Mom, these are Nira and Kea."

"Why don't you come and sit down, lunch is almost ready."

After lunch, Nira and Kea were introduced to the pack, and the pack to them. One of the dogs barked "I like her. You picked a good mate." to Kiba. With that Nira and Kiba turned bright red again.

"Oh I almost forgot. I am supposed to talk to Tsunade this afternoon." Actually Nira had some time left before her meeting, but she couldn't think of any other way to leave politely before what little blood had not already rushed to her face did so when another person or dog assumed that they were a couple. _He's cute, and sweet, and NO stop thinking about the guy, you've only known him 2 days! _She berated herself. "Bye!"

"I'll walk you there" Kiba offered. Once they were out the door Kiba asked "Did you have to see the Hokage right away, or did you want to escape my family's matchmaking efforts?" he smirked.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Guess." His smirk grew wider and I realized how close we were standing. His face was so close to mine…

Naruto came barreling around the corner and crashed into us. We lay sprawled in a heap for a moment before Naruto jumped up, and Kiba offered me a hand up. Naruto stuck out his hand to me and yelled "NICE TO MEET YOU!"

Kiba rolled his eyes and said, "Do you even know who she is?"

"NO, BUT ANY FRIEND OF KIBA'S IS A FRIEND OF MINE!"

"Naruto, meet Nira, Nira meet Naruto. "

"ARE YOU NEW HERE?"

"Yeah. I just got here yesterday morning. Kiba's been showing me around."

"THAT"S NICE OF HIM. WELL I'D BETTER GO TRAIN! WE SHOULD HAVE RAMEN SOME TIME DATTEBYO!" And he dashed off.

"That kid needs a volume down button."

"Yeah."

"Now it probably_ is_ time for me to go see the Hokage."

"Can you find it alright?"

"I can find it fine. See ya."


	4. first mission

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

* * *

><p>Tsunade smirked as she thought over her plan to get Nira back for her comments. Her first mission would be with Team Kakashi. Not that bad until you considered the swamp you had to cross to get to the site of their mission, and the fact that Ichiraku Ramen was introducing a new special tomorrow, so Naruto would definitely be heartbroken about missing. Dealing with a ramen-deprived Naruto should be punishment enough, she reasoned.<p>

Nira knocked on the door. "Enter."

"I have your first mission: there has been a bank robbery in the Land of Rice Patties. They would like to commission one of our ninja teams to capture the thief. You will meet your team at the gate in half an hour. Dismissed."

Nira left the office and a man with spiky silver hair entered the office. She was a little confused as to Tsunade's civility. _She was about to kill me yesterday, and not so much as a snide comment today But then, I think she was trying to hide a smirk while describing my mission. Why? It doesn't sound that bad.I guess I'll find out. _Nira grabbed her backpack from her apartment and headed for the gate. She still had some time, but didn't want to go somewhere else first, get lost and be late. Nira lay on the branch of a tree, while Kea rested in the shade of a bush below. The wind was blowing from the village to her, so she smelled her team before she saw them: roses, ink and paper, and ramen. _The yellow-haired boy who ran into me yesterday was yelling about ramen. Is he my teammate? Oh no. I still have a headache from yesterday! _As Team Kakashi approached, her fears were confirmed. Naruto was approaching along with a pink haired girl who smelled like roses and a pale boy with black hair that smelled of ink and paper. _Maybe they're just passing through, cross my fingers._ But they settled down beneath my tree and Naruto yelled "I'M MISSING THE NEW SPECIAL AT ICHIRAKU RAMEN!" Naruto wailed. "IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE EVEN BETTER THAN THE MISO BROTH WITH PORK AND PICKLED BAMBOO SHOOTS! WHY IS TSUNADE BEING MEAN? WHAT DID I DO TO HER?" _Great, I have a headache starting already._

"Naruto, will you stop yelling about ramen! Aren't you even curious about what our new teammate is going to be like?" the pink-haired girl asked.

"YEAH, BUT I STILL WANT RAMEN!"

"That's enough, Naruto." _Apparently Kakashi is the silver-haired man who went into Tsunade's office after me._ "Are we still waiting for our new team member?"

Nira jumped down from her branch, stating "I'm here." Kea came out from the bushes to stand by her side.

"HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THAT TREE?"

"Since before any of you got here. I wanted to get a chance to observe you all a little bit before the mission."

"HEY! DIDN'T I SEE YOU BEFORE SOMEWHERE?"

Nira rolled her eyes. "Yeah. You knocked me down, yelled something about ramen, and took off like a lunatic."

"That definitely sounds like Naruto" the pink haired girl put in.

"Perhaps we should introduce ourselves properly." Came the flat voice of Kakashi. "I am Kakashi, leader of this team."

Sakura was introduced as the pink haired girl that smelled like roses, and Sai was the pale boy who smelled like ink. Naruto, for his introduction yelled "I'M NARUTO AND I WANT TO BE HOKAGE!"

"I'm Nira, and this is Kea."

Naruto then yelled "I'm GOING TO CATCH THIS THIEF AND EAT RAMEN DATTEBYO!" and took off. Nira sighed. This could be a long mission.

. . .

"Nira." She turned around to find Kakashi looking at her with his one uncovered eye while they moved through the forest.

"Yes?"

I know the strengths and weaknesses of the other members of the team but not yours. I know you are a tracker, but nothing else (Actually Tsunade let him see the video of Nira's test, but he knew you could find out a lot still by questioning the person).

"How do you tend to fight?"

"My battle strength lies in my speed and my chakra control. I use the least amount of chakra possible, so I have much more endurance than most ninja. If I have to use chakra, it is as shuriken or occasionally as a net or wire."

"Preferred weapons?"

"Kea and shuriken."

Do you use Genjutsu?"

"I have zero ability to cast a Genjutsu, but am fairly adept at escaping them. I can always tell when I'm in one because my nose itches."

"Taijutsu?"

"Weak."

"Ninjutsu?"

"I can use my clan's signature move, which enhances the sense of smell of a human."

_During the tracking test, Kea smelled the female beetle. _

"Other than that, I can use the basic Ninjutsu, but they tend to be weak, except for my specialty which is forming my chakra into tiny shuriken less than an inch long and launch them at the enemy. The chakra shuriken can cut through most weapons, and the smaller the shuriken, the sharper they are and the faster they move."

"Show me." Kakashi commanded raising his headband and exposing the Sharingan.

"How many should I make?"

"How many can you do?"

"About a fifty at most."

"How about 6?"

She let lose 6 miniature shuriken composed of chakra within a few seconds of his words leaving his mouth. She directed them at a hill in front of them. When they reached the hill, he saw that there were 6 tiny holes that went completely through the small hill.

"COOL! CAN YOU MAKE BIGGER HOLES?" Naruto shouted.

"Yes, but the larger the hole, the less sharp the shuriken is."

"Hmm." _The chakra shuriken would require immense chakra control, on a level with medical ninja. _"Can you heal?"

"Never been taught. My training was mostly tracking."

_The incredible chakra control and speed cover for her weaknesses at Genjutsu, Taijutsu and Ninjutsu other than her specialty. Even though I used my Sharingan to copy her chakra shuriken, I don't have the chakra control to make a shuriken that small and sharp._ "Can you use any Ninjutsu in combination with Kea like the Inuzuka clan can?"

"No. My family gave that up to focus on the tracking part of our abilities."

"Phobias?"

She looked down. "If there is any possibility that they could affect a mission, I need to know." Kakashi reminded her.

"Tunnels. Small, dark places." She said in a flat, dead voice.

"Do you normally work with short-, mid-, or long-range ninja?"

"I trained with all three types occasionally, but I mostly it was just me and Kea, who's a short-range." Kakashi was glad to note that her voice was regaining its normal vibrancy. _So it sounds like tunnels and small spaces are completely incapacitating to her. Good to find this out now, I guess._

"So how do Sakura, Sai and Naruto fight?"


	5. pursuit

Disclaimer: I am not Masashi Kishimoto. I do not own Naruto.

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><p>They came to the bank that had been robbed, and Nira stopped in the door, almost causing the others to crash into her. She could guess which scent they would be following. There was a trace of a metallic, bitter scent tinged with sweat that made the hairs on her arms stand up. She knew this scent. "Let's get this rat," she growled, eager for the chase.<p>

"Aren't you forgetting something? Like the scent you are supposed to be following?"

"I already know which one I'm following." She rolled her eyes at Kakashi who had raised an eyebrow. "Obviously the scent to follow is the only one that is not tinged with fear. The only guy not afraid is the one holding the others at gunpoint. But if it makes you happy, I will smell the vault that he took stuff from."

She marched past him to the vault with Kea, and they sneezed simultaneously. "I've got the scent. _Now_ can we go get him?"

As she ran after the bitter scent, she remembered the fun she had last time she was tracking, the heady smell of evergreen tinged with wood smoke: Kiba's scent. _No. I must only think of catching this rat!_ She doubled her speed, flying through the trees, ignoring the cries of Naruto, Sakura, and Sai who she left in the dust. Kakashi disappeared from beside her and reappeared in front of her, forcing her to stop.

"I know you want nothing more than to sink your teeth into this guy, but you are part of a team now, and teams rely on teamwork. It is hard to work as a team when you leave the others in the dust." He stood in front of her, looking at her. She trembled in anger, and he wouldn't have been surprised to see her start frothing at the mouth, she was so out of control. _It takes a tremendous amount of control to use her chakra shuriken, but something about this scent has caused her to lose all control._ "Do you know this scent already?" He asked, eyes narrowing.

Her hands clenched and she yelled "This bastard is my father!"

"Calm down. Getting angry will get you captured by your father. Do you want to be under his control again?"

"Never." Her eyes were like lasers, but she was no longer trembling. The rage was still there, but at least it was controlled. _I suppose that's the best she can do._

The other ninja caught up and she coldly stated "Let's go"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in Konoha:<p>

Kiba hung out at the dog park he had showed Nira, hoping to run into her. After two days of not seeing her he was lost in his thoughts, and didn't notice that he almost walked into Temari.

"Watch it dog boy! Have you seen your girlfriend?"

"Nira is not my girlfriend and I haven't seen her since she went to talk to the Hokage." _Is she avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?_

"Nobody's seen her. Do you think the Hokage gave her a mission? She should have told us. Hey, let's talk to the guards at the gate; they should have seen her leave if she left on a mission."

"A new girl with a big dog? Yeah. She left with Team Kakashi two days ago. She was muttering about Naruto and wishing she'd packed a headache cure."

"That sounds like Nira. Thanks." Temari waved good-bye to the guards. "Feel better now?" she asked Kiba.

"Huh?"

"The girl you like just disappeared. I'm sure you thought that something awful had happened to her, or else you had done something wrong and she was avoiding you."

"You psychic or something?"

"Nah, but boys with crushes are easy to figure out."

"She'll be back soon I'm sure." She dropped the still unenthusiastic boy off at his house, where his mother winked and said "I'll make sure he eats something and sleeps."

Temari went to wring some information out of the Hokage. _After all, Pineapple-head's friends are my friends too._

Tsunade looked up in confusion at the knock at her door. _I don't remember calling anyone to my office._

"Enter"

In came Temari, and she was not happy, though what about, Tsunade couldn't guess. "Dog boy's all depressed because Nira disappeared, and he thinks she's avoiding him because he did something wrong, but she's probably on a mission, because no one's seen her. So where is she and what is she doing so I can tell Kiba to stop moping."

_Nira sure made friends and a conquest fast. I shouldn't be surprised. She understands his bond with Akamaru. _"She's with Team Kakashi in the Land of Rice Paddies, tracking a bank robber. She should be back in a few more days. Happy?"

"Yeah. Shika's friends are my friends, and this is what friends do."

_It seems like Nira is a good addition to Konoha, but I will have a better idea once Kakashi gets back and I read his report. _

* * *

><p>Nira could feel her heart race as she closed in on her father. She would like nothing more than to bring that bastard to justice. Her stomach churned at the memories that his scent brought back. She remembered being in the dark, in a closed off section of tunnel, begging her father to let her out, not to leave her alone, promising to be good, if only he would let her out.<p>

Sakura shuddered slightly at the feral grin and murderous aura of the girl traveling beside her. She didn't really want to know what Nira's father had done to her to turn the smart, funny girl who blushed when talking about Kiba that had traveled with them into this killing machine. _Why do all of my friends have messed up childhoods?_ Sakura's legs burned, but she didn't care. She would help Nira bring her father to justice.

The scent came to a river and disappeared. Nira halted and her nose went up in the air, nostrils flaring, and Kea followed suit. _I can't smell anything, and neither can Kea. Damn. I guess he learned something from my clan before he left my mother. But there is only one way he could hide his scent this well._ Nira formed a chakra rope, tying one end to her middle, and the other to a tree, then without warning, she dove into the water. Underwater she searched for an underwater tunnel that she knew must be hiding somewhere in the churning water. Her father had always had a thing for tunnels, and even Kea couldn't detect his scent upstream or down. There! She could feel a section of the current splitting off, continuing underground. She popped up to the surface, just in time to hear the last part of Naruto's narration of her unplanned dive, yelled at the top of his lungs (of course). "There's an underwater tunnel that he went through." _Sneaky bastard._ "My father sometimes went to a cabin near here to get drunk with his buddies. He is probably using it to crash temporarily. He won't be expecting anyone to be able to find his scent. He learned a lot from my clan."

"How sure are you that this tunnel leads to your father's cabin?" Kakashi asked.

"I know my father. I know how he thinks. I know his tunnels. This one goes in that direction, and we don't have anyone who breathes water to follow the tunnel. You're just going to have to trust me on this one."

"Lead the way."


	6. confrontation

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Nira's heart tried to pound its way out of her chest as she observed the cabin. On the outside, she was icy calm. On the inside was a maelstrom of rage and terror. Kakashi looked at her white-knuckled hands and thought_ I'll have to make sure she doesn't shred him. We're supposed to take him alive._

Kakashi knew that Nira was going to go in the front door, no matter what he ordered, so planned accordingly: Nira would be at the front door, Kakashi would come through the ground while the thief was distracted, Sai was at the bathroom window waiting to make his entrance from there, while Naruto was on the roof and Sakura was stationed at the entrance of the tunnel behind the cabin.

Nira's radio crackled and she heard "On my mark, 3…2…1…Go." She stalked to the front door, sliced up the lock and slammed the door open yelling "Come face me like a man you bastard!" Kakashi slid into the ground unnoticed.

"Nira! You've been a bad girl haven't you? And you know what happens to bad girls? They get put in the tunnels. Look: I'll make a new one just for you!" He greeted her, a sickening smile dominating his face. His grin was ear-to-ear, but his eyes were blank and cold.

Nira released a battalion of chakra shuriken at her father, but he jumped and clung to the ceiling. Her shuriken cut the house to ribbons, and Sai narrowly avoided being sliced as many of them tore through the house and kept going. Sai's eyes widened slightly. _That was a powerful attack._

"You're still weak. I cannot figure out what you're mother saw in you. She's better off dead than having to deal with her disappointment of a daughter." Her father cackled, glee replacing the blankness in his eyes. "I'll miss you so much, Nira, but I think it's time for you to join your mother. She'll be so happy to see you!" he exclaimed, returning to the ground.

Nira screamed at him a wordless cry of terror and rage as Kakashi's hand came through the ground and stabbed a tranquilizer into her father's leg.

She released more shuriken. He jumped, the needle of the tranquilizer tearing through his leg, but Nira tugged on the threads attached to her shuriken so that they followed him. When he landed on the ground, he was breathing raggedly, and trying to stop the bleeding from where her shuriken had hit. Sai and Naruto appeared in the midst of the commotion to see Kakashi desperately trying to restrain Nira. Sai bound the thief while Naruto grabbed Kea's collar. Sai pressed the radio "Sakura, the thief has been caught, but he's going to need healing if we're going to bring him back alive like we are supposed to."

"Your cockiness was your demise. Nira is not weak." Kakashi commented to the man prone on the floor. "Be assured you will get what you deserve."

Sakura entered and knelt in the puddle of blood beside Nira's father, eyes wide at the damage that had been inflicted on him. She got to work healing him, while Nira crumpled to the floor and shook with silent sobs. The three males looked at each other helplessly. _What do we do?_ Sai approached hesitantly, what he had read in his book was that he should put his arm about her and tell her it was going to be alright, but Kea wouldn't let any of the males approach as she stood guard over her mistress.

Sakura was a compassionate person, but just saving the man's life exhausted her. She bandaged the injuries that weren't life threatening, reasoning that this man deserved some pain, and it would be wise to save some of her chakra for an emergency. She washed her hands in the sink and cautiously approached Kea. "Will you let me talk to Nira?" Kea watched her warily, but did not snarl at Sakura as she approached. Nira curled against the other girl as sobs wracked her body. But she couldn't help remembering the last time someone had held her, someone that smelled of evergreen and wood smoke. _Is this what friends are like? They hold you when you cry, and tell you it's going to be okay?_

When Nira's hysterics had calmed, Kakashi suggested "We should probably head out. Sai, Naruto, you can take _him_," gesturing to the man covered in blood bandages and rope. Sakura helped the other girl up, and they set off.

Kakashi thought about the mission as they traveled. _Nira would probably be a good addition to Konoha, but I would still prefer one more normal mission before I clear her. She can be stubborn, and doesn't have much experience working with other ninja, but she can learn. She lost control, but I don't think that will happen again unless she has to fight her father again. Her father, if you could call him that. No wonder she's afraid of tunnels._ (Kakashi had been able to hear the conversation between father and daughter from his position just beneath the ground). _I'm sure she will be much more reasonable on the next mission. _

* * *

><p>Tsunade read the note Shizune handed her:<p>

_Thief has been apprehended. Name: Akatani Kimato. Land of Rice Paddies has agreed to turn him over to us on account of the long list of crimes he is wanted for in Konoha, including the slaying of his wife. Will be arriving in 2 days with the prisoner._

"Of all the first missions I could have given the girl, I had to choose capture her abusive father, didn't I?" Tsunade asked, putting her head in her hands.

"You didn't know the thief was her father though," Shizune comforted.

"Still, I know what he's capable of. I can guess what her childhood must have been like. I'm sure this mission was mentally damaging."

"I want to see Kakashi and Nira as soon as they get back. And tell Ibiki to prepare for a visitor."


	7. comfort

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Gaara would have eyebrows like every normal person. I have no clue why he has none, but my point is that I do not own Naruto.

* * *

><p>Kiba was listlessly walking Akamaru when he saw Sakura walking down the street. <em>Wasn't she on the mission with Nira?<em> "Hey! How'd the mission go?"

"Nira had a rough time with the mission. The thief was her abusive father…." Sakura explained the mission, not wanting Kiba to be unprepared for Nira's state of mind at the moment.

At the end of the story, Kiba's hands were balled into fists, and Akamaru's lip was raised in a silent snarl. "No wonder she was afraid of the tunnel shortcut to the Hokage tower."

Meanwhile in the Hokage tower: Kakashi was giving his report to Tsunade while Nira waited her turn in the hallway.

"I never meant the mission to be like this. I just wanted you to get a feel for her strengths and weaknesses, and your summons could provide backup if she lost the trail." Sigh. "You are dismissed. You can send her in."

Nira walked in, heart in her throat. _I lost control. I tried to kill him. My mission was to bring him back alive._ Gulp. "Kakashi says you did very well, considering the circumstances.' _Wait! WHAT?_ "You will have a few days off before your next mission. Dismissed." Nira stared in shock at the hokage. "Is there something else?" Tsunade asked, seeing that the newest ninja was not moving.

"Uh. No." Nira said, startled out of her thoughts by Tsunade's words. She fled.

Nira sat on the bench in the dog park, staring at her hands. She shook with unshed tears. It was all too much.

Kiba walked by the park on his way to Nira's apartment to see if she was there, but caught her scent on the breeze. It was almost covered up by the smell of fear, blood, dirt, and tears, but he could still tell it was her.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked quietly, immediately regretting his words. _You idiot! Of course she's not okay!_

The only response was a muted sob interrupted by a hiccup. He sat on the bench, and slowly inched closer. When she still made no response, he gingerly reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. "Nira?"

She turned to him and buried her head in his chest. "I don't want to cry anymore. My father was right about me: I'm just weak. I couldn't even kill him. I don't deserve friends. I deserve to live in a tunnel."

"Shh. Don't think like that. Crying is not weakness. You are strong. You have an amazing nose and a strong jutsu. You passed my impossible test. You deserve to have friends. Nobody deserves to live in a tunnel, especially not you." He murmured comfortingly, holding her close, not caring that the blood on her clothes was getting on his own. He just sat there and held her, trying to comfort her, until the sobbing slowed down and turned to hiccups. She was covered in dirt and grime and blood, her tears creating clear tracks through it, but she was still beautiful to Kiba. He wanted to protect her, but he felt so helpless against her memories.

"I bet you'll feel better once you've had a shower and some food." Nira nodded mutely, and they set off for her apartment, still clinging to Kiba, so held her close, one arm around her waist. As they neared the apartment complex, they ran into Temari who was also coming back to her apartment. She took in Nira's appearance with wide eyes, but Kiba was thankful that she didn't ask questions, just helped him guide the limp girl to her apartment. While Nira was in the shower, Temari demanded to know what had happened. Temari shook with anger at the story. She suddenly realized that Kiba's clothes were crusted with blood as well.

"You can't stay in those bloody clothes. I think Shika left some clothes in my room, they should fit well enough." Any other time Kiba would have teased her about her relationship with "Shika" as she called him, but tonight, he was just grateful to her. She returned, holding a shirt and pants and handed them to him. "You can change in the bathroom in my room; I'll wait for Nira to get out."

Temari heard the water shut off as Kiba left the room. Nira came out, and Temari patted the bed next to her. Temari put her arm about the younger girl.

"Where's Kiba?"

"Don't worry, I just gave him some of Shikamaru's clothes to change into, since his had blood on them."

Kiba came back, dressed in Shikamaru's clothes, and Nira giggled. It was a weak laugh, but it was progress. Since Kiba was taller and broader in the shoulder than Shikamaru, the clothes didn't fit right, but they were free of blood. Nira looked at her hands and Temari looked at Kiba, inclining her head towards the other girl. Kiba sat on the bed next to her, while Temari got up and headed for the kitchen. She came back soon, asking Nira "Don't you have _anything_ but dog food?" That got another weak laugh out of Nira, and Temari headed for her apartment across the hall, promising to return with "real food."

The smell of food coming from the kitchen made Nira's mouth water. She tried to remember the last time she ate anything. She vaguely remembered Team Kakashi trying to make her eat something on the way back to Konoha, but she didn't remember if they had succeeded. Considering how loudly her stomach was complaining, probably not.

Once she finished eating, she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. It had all just been too much. She slumped to the table, fast asleep.

* * *

><p>Nira spent most of the day after her first mission sleeping, and Temari checked on her every few hours. That evening, she was woken by a knock at her door. Temari stood there. "Hey. We're treating team Asuma to BBQ tonight for completing their mission."<p>

"Who's Team Asuma?"

"Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji."

"How long do I have?"

"I'll come get you in a half hour."

* * *

><p>"Ready to go?"<p>

"Yeah."

"You clean up pretty nice. Hoping Kiba will notice?" Temari commented slyly. Nira blushed "I knew it!" Temari crowed. "You like him!"

"He doesn't have a girlfriend, does he?" Nira asked nervous.

Temari snorted. "He's single; and trust me, he likes you."

"You think so?"

"Why else would he mope around when you left for a mission and didn't tell anyone?"

"Oops. I'm not used to having friends besides Kea."

"We'll forgive you." Nira smiled at the thought of seeing Kiba and Akamaru again.

Temari nudged Nira as they entered the BBQ. "There's a seat open next to Kiba."

Naruto was already at the table, and when he saw Nira he yelled happily "YOU SHOULD SEE HER SPECIAL NINJUTSU! SHE DOES THESE AWESOME TINY CHAKRA SHURIKEN THAT CAN CUT THROUGH ANYTHING! YOU SHOULD SHOW THEM!"

"But the owner of the BBQ might not be happy if I wrecked his restaurant."

"CAN'T YOU SHOW THEM JUST ONE AND NOT DESTROY THE PLACE?"

Nira shrugged and pulled out a kunai from her ninja pouch. She formed one miniature chakra shuriken and sliced through the kunai with it. Jaws dropped. Kunai were pretty hard to slice. The shuriken floated up above their heads to be joined by an entire flock of miniature shuriken.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Naruto yelled as Nira dissolved them.

She shrugged. "It makes up for the fact that I can't use Genjutsu and the rest of my Ninjutsu are weak."

Sakura was intrigued to see Nira's jutsu up close. _I wonder if I have enough control to make those. Medical Ninjutsu requires a lot of control, but this is different._

The conversation was a little awkward at first, everyone trying to avoid the topic of family or Team Kakashi's last mission, but Nira didn't burst into tears, and seemed composed, so the ninja relaxed a little more. The rest of the evening passed in a pleasant blur until Nira's head dropped to Kiba's shoulder. He was surprised, then realized she had fallen asleep. The other ninja looked guilty when they realized how late it was.

They gently shook the sleeping girl awake, and she and Temari headed for their apartment complex.

"SO WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO AKS HER OUT?" yelled Naruto.

"What if she doesn't like me, though?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she just blushes when she sits next you and every time you pay her a compliment because she hates you."

"You should just ask the youthful flower out" added Lee.

"What do the rest of you think?" Kiba asked

"Hn." (Neji)

"She's really good with weapons, so yeah." (Tenten)

"Hmm." (Shino)

"I think she likes you, Kiba-kun." (Hinata)

"She's pretty' (Ino)

"Yeah" said Choji as he grabbed the last piece of meat.

"You should ask her out" (Sakura)

"My book said to always present flowers when asking a woman out." (Sai)

Kiba scratched the back of his head. Talking about asking someone out was awkward. He left his smirking friends at the BBQ thinking _She's pretty, an awesome tracker, created her own incredible jutsu, why would she like me?_


	8. showoff

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Nira and Kea

* * *

><p>Tsunade stared at her tea. <em>It's been 2 days since Nira completed her mission by bringing her father in. she should definitely have had time to calm down. Sakura keeps talking about her Chakra control. Perhaps I should ask for a demonstration.<em> "Shizune!"

"Hai!"

"Have Nira meet me at training ground 5 in an hour."

* * *

><p>"Nira"<p>

"Tsunade-sama"

"Sakura speaks highly of your chakra control and shuriken. I would like to observe first hand."

"How many should I make?"

"I want you to show me the full extent of your power."

Nira took a deep breath in, and released a cloud of tiny shuriken along with her breath. Tsunade blinked and saw about 75 tiny holes bored into the stone in front of the girl. _Didn't Kakashi say her limit was 50?_ Looking more closely at the holes, she realized they spelled a message: Good Enough? The lettering wasn't perfect, but Tsunade was astonished at her control all the same. _Just creating the miniature shuriken requires tremendous control, but she also controls where they go._ Tsunade turned around to praise the kunoichi, but saw her she sway, then collapse. _I think she overdid it a little. _

Nira tried to focus on the blurry image in front of her. The image was fuzzy, but the scent of sake was present: Tsunade's. "Tsunade-sama?" she asked blearily.

"You okay?" she asked.

She put her hands to her head and moaned. "I think my head is going to explode."

"Serves you right," commented Tsunade. ""You told Kakashi your limit was 50, and there are 74 holes in that rock. You pushed yourself too far."

"I just wanted to impress you." Nira mumbled, looking at her feet.

"Well, I was impressed, but it will do you no good to overdo it and collapse. Can you move?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little tired." She tried to push herself to her hands and knees, but collapsed again. Tsunade smirked. "All right. So I'm really tired. Can you stop laughing at me long enough to fix my headache so I can think straight again?" she snapped.

As Tsunade placed a glowing hand on her and began checking her over, she noticed the girl's chakra signature was very faint. _The shuriken take a tremendous amount of control, but they shouldn't have depleted her chakra like this._ "Have you used your chakra already today?"

"Yeah. I sparred with Tenten this morning; she wanted to find out how her weapons measured up to mine, then when she quit because I was scratching her favorite blade, so I sparred with Neji instead." _Fighting Tenten and Neji , then pulling a stunt like this._ _No wonder she's wiped out. She reminds me a little of Naruto, pushing herself too hard to try to gain acceptance. _

"No wonder your chakra is all but gone. You should have told me. _Before_ you used the last of it to try and impress me and collapsed. Now I have to take you back to the hospital. All you need is rest, but I'm sure you're like all the other ninja and won't rest unless we keep you under guard in the hospital. Nira tried to glare at the Hokage, but her traitorous eyelids kept drooping and the darkness overwhelmed her.

. . .

When Nira awoke, the first think she saw was a white ceiling. She smelled antiseptic. "Damn it. I hate hospitals." She rasped.

"You sound great" Kiba joked.

Nira glared at him. "You're so helpful."

The nurse left some food here, do you want me to feed you?"

"I'm perfectly capable of feeding myself."

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "Have you looked at your hands?"

Puzzled, she looked to her hands. They were stiff and wrapped in bandages. "When did this happen?"

"You poured so much chakra through your hands to make too many shuriken that you burned them." When Nira made no reply, Kiba repeated his question with a badly concealed smirk. "Do you want me to feed you?"

Nira glared at him, but her traitorous stomach growled loudly enough for the boy to hear.

"I'll take that as a yes." He put his hands gently beneath her back and helped her sit up.

"I can sit up without help." She rolled her eyes at him and opened her mouth to say something else, but Kiba shoved a spoonful of soup in her mouth. She swallowed, glared and opened her mouth again, only to be met with more soup. When she continued to glare at him, he said, "Hey! I'm just trying to be helpful."

She grumbled. "I know you are. I just hate to be dependent on people."

"Hey. It's not for that long. Tsunade said you'd be out in a couple of days."

"Tsunade ordered you to make sure I stay here, didn't she?"

"Yeah, but you could have had someone worse as a jailer. You could have had Naruto." Kiba suggested, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"I will admit that you are better than that…"

"Knuckle-head?"

"Yeah. At least you don't scream about ramen all the time."

A knock came at the door. In piled most of their friends.

"Hn. You should not have used so much chakra after our match this morning." Neji recited in a flat voice.

"And I should have hit you harder this morning then I wouldn't have to sit through another of your lectures." Nira shot back, annoyed at the reminder that she lost that morning.

"It was not a lecture, merely a summation of your deficiencies."

She just rolled her eyes at the Hyuuga.

"You sparred with Neji this morning?" Temari asked.

Neji explained "It was a moderately even match. I could not use 8 trigrams to deflect her pure chakra attacks, and so had to expend more energy to dodge."

"High praise, coming from Neji." Tenten put in.

"He still won," Nira grumped, her pride still sore.

"I've been sparring with him for years. He always does." Tenten muttered.

The conversation in the room continued for a while, until they realized that Nira had fallen asleep at some point. Looking guilty, all but Kiba left.


	9. hospital

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, not me.

* * *

><p>Nira woke the next morning to the quiet breathing of Kiba and the dogs. She smiled as she watched them sleep. Akamaru and Kea were curled up together between Kiba and her bed. Kiba was technically sitting in the chair, but had slumped against the wall. <em>He looks so sweet when he's asleep.<em>

She slipped carefully out of bed. Kea opened one eye, and Nira gave her the hand sign to stay. She crept quietly to the door_. I don't want to get Kiba in trouble, but surely I can go out for a little while and come back before anyone notices._ She had almost made it to the door when she was stopped by a pair of strong arms wrapping about her waist from behind. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice you escaping? Tsunade would kill me for letting you escape." She could feel his breath on her neck as he talked, and it made her pulse quicken.

"I was going to come back in a bit so you wouldn't get in trouble."

Kiba picked her up and placed her back on the bed. "You're staying here until you're healed." He said firmly. She sighed. Kiba winced, rubbing his neck.

"Sleeping in that position can't have been comfortable."

"It wasn't. I think I'm going to crash on the floor tonight."

Kiba rolled his neck back and forth, trying to work the kinks from it. A knock on the door came, and Sakura came in, bearing food. "Good. You're awake. I brought food." She placed the human food on the table and the dog food on the floor. "We're kind of busy this morning, so would you mind feeding her again?" she asked Kiba. "The bandages won't come off until tomorrow. If her hands get too itchy, you can rub this on them." She handed the boy a small green bottle.

"They already itch." Nira grumped.

"Well, food or salve first?"

"Salve. This itches like crazy."

"Itching is a good sign, it means they're healing." Sakura commented as she left to check on her other patients.

Kiba gently unwrapped Nira's hands and examined them. "They don't look too bad. They should be fine soon."

Nira gritted her teeth. "Just rub that salve on before I can't keep myself from scratching anymore and undo all the healing."

Kiba's fingers were gentle and warm as he massaged the green paste into her hands. Nira sighed in contentment. "You have no idea how good this feels." She closed her eyes. She opened her eyes again when Kiba began rewrapping her hands.

"Are you ready for breakfast now?" She nodded, and Kiba bought the spoon to her mouth. _I hate being dependent on someone, but it's kind of nice to have Kiba looking after me._

Temari, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, and Hinata came in to visit. "Teams Gai and Kakashi, minus Sakura, who was needed here, are on missions, and Shino was searching for a rare bug, but the rest of us came to keep you company. I see Kiba is taking good care of you," Temari said slyly, watching him feed her.

Nira blushed. She held up her hands. "It's just because I'm not allowed to use my hands yet."

"_Right._ Well, Sakura told us to keep you occupied, because apparently you already tried escaping once."

Nira rolled her eyes. "I hate hospitals."

"Believe me, I noticed." muttered Kiba.

Kiba left to walk the dogs, and Nira's friends promised to keep his prisoner from escaping the hospital. The grin on Temari's face as she explained what she would do to Nira if she tried to escape was enough to keep the unhappy patient sitting on her bed as ordered.

Kiba turned to the dogs beside him, "What do you think? Do you think she likes me?"

Both dogs stopped and looked at him like he was stupid.

"Stupid question? I just don't want to mess things up with her."

When Kiba and the dogs returned, he found his friends talking about battles. Surprise, surprise. They are ninja after all.

"Your chakra shuriken would definitely be troublesome in a battle." Shikamaru stared at his hands, which were in his thinking position, fingertips together. "Sakura has great chakra control, I wonder if she could make them."

"What do you think I might be able to do?" asked Sakura, who had heard the end of the conversation as she walked past the room.

"You might be able to make chakra weapons like Nira's. Your chakra control is good."

"Hmm." She concentrated on her hand, and a small ball of chakra formed. She flattened it, and tried sharpening it. Sweat ran down her face, and when she was done, she had a shuriken the size of her hand in her palm.

"Bring it here" Nira asked. She went to pull out a kunai from her pouch, then realized she didn't have her pouch, and her hands were bandaged. "One of you want to lend me a kunai so we can test Sakura's shuriken?" Kiba handed her one and watched as she pressed it against the shuriken. The kunai couldn't cut the shuriken, but neither could the shuriken do more than slightly scratch the kunai. "The smaller the shuriken, the sharper" she reminded Sakura.

"You make it look easy."

"It's not." She yawned.

"We should leave you to rest."

"I'm not tired." Nira protested.

"_Right._" All but Kiba trooped out.

* * *

><p>Nira woke in the middle of the night. Her bed was lumpy, and Kea couldn't fit on it. She looked at the floor, where Kiba, Akamaru and Kea lay. <em>They look comfortable.<em> She crawled out of bed, and curled up on the floor next to Kiba, using Kea as a pillow. Kiba opened his eyes and looked at her. "My bed is lumpy and Kea can't fit on it." She explained. Kiba closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

Sakura approached the Nira's room with breakfast, ready to check her hands once more and release her from the hospital, but stopped when she saw the boy, girl and dogs asleep in a heap on the floor. _They look so cute together._ She placed the breakfast on the table, and wrote a note to go along with it.

When Kiba awoke, he realized that they had shifted in their sleep, because Nira's head was pillowed on his chest, and his arm was draped over her waist. He tried to extricate himself, but Nira wrapped an arm about him and snuggled against him, still asleep. Kiba sighed gently and stayed where he was. Being this close to her made his heart race and his stomach do flips. _She looks so sweet when she's asleep._

Nira woke up but didn't open her eyes. She could hear Kiba's heartbeat beneath her ear, feel his arm about her waist, smell his scent: evergreen and wood smoke. If she opened her eyes, he would leave, and she was enjoying the sensation of someone holding her close. She snuggled a little closer to him, wishing this moment wouldn't end. Kea let Nira enjoy the moment for a while, then got up and started nudging her mistress with her nose. "Time to get up, pup." She barked.

_I didn't know that Kea called Nira pup. That's cute. _Nira opened her eyes to see Kiba looking at her. "I thought you would never wake up." he commented.

"You make a good pillow." She replied. Then she glared at her hands. They didn't itch as much as yesterday, but they still itched.

Kiba stood and saw the breakfast tray and note. "Oi. Sakura left us a note."

"What's it say?"

"When you're awake, eat your breakfast, then call me. I'll check Nira over, then release her." Kiba stopped reading and turned pink.

"What else did she write?" Nira demanded.

When he just shook his head, Nira snatched the paper from his hand and read the PS: You two look cute sleeping together like that.

Nira turned pink as well.

"If you stay here, I'll go get Sakura so she can release you from the hospital."

Sakura smirked when a pink-faced Kiba came to find her. "Your note wasn't funny." He glared at her.

"But you two _do_ look so cute together."

"You were going to check her over, so you could release her." Kiba reminded her.

"Yeah. I'm coming."

Sakura removed the bandages from Nira's hands and looked the burns over. "They seem to be healing nicely. You can take more of the salve with you if they still itch. You're ready to be released."

"FINALLY!" Nira bolted for the door before the pink haired girl could change her mind and order her to stay in the hospital longer.

* * *

><p>Kiba walked into his house and his sister sniffed the air. "You smell like her! I was right Mom! Kiba has a girlfriend!"<p>

"Congratulations!"

"Mom, she's not my girlfriend," Kiba weakly protested.

"You haven't asked her out yet? Shame on you!"


	10. escort

Disclaimer: Do I really need to repeat that I do not own Naruto? All I own are my student loans and the sea of random thoughts known as my brain.

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><p>Nira was sitting at her table when she detected an unfamiliar shinobi chakra approaching her door. She slid a kunai out of her pouch and waited next to the door, suppressing her chakra signature . A knock came at the door. She waited, not saying anything. A second knock came, accompanied by the words "Tsunade-sama wishes to see you." Nira released her concealment of her chakra signature, but kept her hold on her kunai while she opened the door to the foreign ninja. "She wishes to you to meet her in half an hour." The messenger disappeared in smoke and reported to Tsunade.<p>

"How did she take the message?"

"She sensed my presence from a fair distance and suppressed her chakra signature. When I mentioned my purpose, she allowed me to sense her, but greeted me with a kunai in her hand."

"I see." _So she's still skittish._ "Dismissed."

"Hai."

* * *

><p>Kakashi strolled into the Hokage's office, looking like he hadn't a care in the world, to see Naruto, Sai and Nira waiting impatiently for him. "Sorry, I got lost on the road of life."<p>

Naruto rolled his eyes. "THAT WAS YOUR EXCUSE A WEEK AGO!"

Kakashi simply ignored him and turned to Tsunade. "You had a mission for us?"

"Here is you mission: guard this prince to the Land of Sugar. You will probably be attacked by ninja hired by other suitors of the princess of the land of Sugar. You depart immediately."

* * *

><p>Nira gaped at the spectacle coming out of the prince's manor. The spectacle was a deep purple box decorated with huge amounts of gold leaf, carried by four overly muscular men. The prince, she assumed, must be in the box. As the ninja approached, one of the bearers of the box said "His highness does not wish to be disturbed." They shrugged, and stationed themselves, one at each corner. Nira found herself at the back of the box, staring at the gaudy designs. At least she wasn't stuck next to Naruto.<p>

Kea stopped in the woods where she traveled parallel to the team and their escort. She raised her head, scenting the wind. _Humans._ And they were nowhere near a town. She gave a gentle tug, then two tugs in quick succession on the line stretching from her collar to her mistress.

Nira felt the tugs. _Enemies. And two tugs meant from the west. _She coughed and rubbed her hand across her throat twice. Kakashi understood her signal, but did not change outwardly. _It was a good idea to station Kea in the woods to smell assassins, and set up a code to communicate. They will have no idea that we are on to them when they decide to attack._ They continued, feigning ignorance.

The other ninja kept pace with them until they reached a narrow pass between rock faces. The perfect place for an ambush. Nira could smell them on her own now, four distinct scents, but all tinged with the scent of rain. _Are they water users, or from the Village hidden in the Mist?_ Whoever they were, they chose that moment to attack. 2 jumped in front of the caravan, 2 behind it, all of them wearing the hitai-ate of the village hidden in the mist. Sai whipped out his scroll and paintbrush. "Ninja Art: Super Beast Scroll." While the Ninja behind the caravan avoided the stylized lions, Nira released near-invisible shuriken while one of the ninja was in the air and less able to dodge. He held out his kunai to deflect the shuriken, but they sliced through his kunai and through him. With a poof, he disappeared. _A shadow clone?_ She reached through the purple curtain of the box, grabbed the prince and forced chakra into her feet as she leapt away from the caravan, which exploded while they were in the air.

Nira landed, coughing as smoke entered her nostrils. _Damn. Now I can't smell them._ _Well, I'm sure they will come to me. I have their target, the prince. _The rest of her team settled in around the prince who was pouting and holding his wrist. They waited. The smoke cleared, and Nira could smell again. She took a deep breath in. _I can't smell them anymore; all I smell is the prince's perfume. _"Kea" she called. Kea trotted out of the woods and barked "I can't smell them either."

Nira relaxed slightly. "I think they've withdrawn to regroup."

"We should take a less obvious route the rest of the way. Nira, will you follow us and take care of our trail?"

"Hai, Kakashi sensei."

"What about me?" demanded a petulant voice. "You let my chair get blown up, and that bitch nearly broke my wrist." The prince whined, a pout dominating his face.

Nira glared at the flabby, whiny man decked out in midnight blue silk and gold embroidery, but Kakashi simply replied in a flat tone. "You commissioned us to escort you safely to the Land of Sugar. Your mission description included nothing about your chair having to be intact, and _Nira_ saved your life."

The prince sniffed, his nose high in the air and said. "Of course I should have realized that barbarians like your selves would have no sense of how _civilized _men behave. Now escort me to the Land of Sugar. Immediately." He demanded.

Nira stayed by the original trail as the rest of her team split off. _At least if I stay behind to cover the trail, I don't have to listen to the prince whine anymore. Or smell that awful perfume he wears. _

* * *

><p>Back in Konoha:<p>

Kiba took a deep steadying breath and headed for Nira's apartment. _My friends are right. I should just ask her out._ But as he neared her door, he saw a note stuck to the door. "Gone on an escort mission to the Land of Sugar with Kakashi, Sai and Naruto. Do not worry." Kiba's heart sank.

_Maybe some training will get my mind off of her. _He headed for the training grounds, only to hear a soft voice call his name.

"Kiba-kun."

"Hinata? What is it?"

"Tsunade-sama wants to see us in her office. We have a mission."


	11. home

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine

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><p>Nira and the rest of her team headed out the gates of the Land of Sugar. Nira punched the air in exuberance, crying happily "Mission complete!"<p>

Her team stared at her. The prince was obnoxious, but this wasn't how she normally acted.

"Isn't it great Kea? We can finally smell something besides that nauseating perfume of his!"

_Ah. The perfume. That makes sense. The smell was quite strong, even to those who had average noses. It must have been overwhelming for the girl and dog. And it wasn't even a particularly pleasant smell. _

Nira happily filled her nose with the smell of the forest they were entering. The smell of the pine trees reminded her of Kiba, and she sighed in contentment.

She turned her nose to the wind, then barked and cried "Rabbit! Anyone want to chase it with me?"

Once again her team stopped and looked at her confused, and a little put off. _Did she just bark?_

"It was a joke! I know I'm not a dog. Don't you guys have a sense of humor?"

"It's just, you've never made a joke before with us…BUT, I KNOW ONE ABOUT RAMEN IF YOU WANT TO HEAR IT!" cried Naruto, his voice returning to its normal yell.

_I'm glad she seems to finally be settling in with the team._ Kakashi thought. _She performed her duties on the mission well, but this was the first time she made an effort to fit in. Teams that get along well work together better._

* * *

><p>Nira approached the Hokage's door more confidently than she had ever done before. The mission was a success, and she had done her part well. After she reported in, she could take a hot shower, find some food, then maybe see if Kiba was around.<p>

"Enter."

"Tsunade-sama."

"I have already received Kakashi's report. He feels that you have proved yourself to be a worthy and reliable ninja." She pulled out a hitai-ate. "Akatani Nira, you are now officially a shinobi of the Leaf Village."

Nira took the forehead protector from her, a proud smile on her face as she tied it around her head. _I belong here. _

"I will call you when you have another mission. Dismissed."

_If only you could see me now, Mom!_

* * *

><p>Many of her friends, including Kiba, were away on missions, but Nira was determined not to mope around. <em>I may as well do something useful. <em>Thus, she was standing in front of the door to Neji's room, banging on the door. "I can smell you; I know you're in there! I want a rematch!"

3 hours later, she was glaring at the Hyuuga prodigy as, he held a kunai to her throat, as he had done multiple times that day. She growled. _I lost again!_

Just then, Tenten came up behind Neji and placed her kunai to his throat. "You shouldn't have let your guard down just because you beat her." She laughed. "Besides, you needed beaten. You start thinking you're the best if no one beats you, then you're insufferable.

"Hn."

"Does he ever say anything besides Hn?" Nira asked Tenten, stepping away from the kunai at her throat.

"Rarely, and if he does, it's normally a 'summation of your deficiencies.'" She said, mimicking his voice for the last part. She rolled her eyes. "But I _suppose_," she put emphasis on that word, "that's better than calling me a youthful flower and crying about how youthful running a thousand laps around Konoha would be."

"I'm surprised you're still sane after the team you had." Nira smirked.

"Though not technically insane, she sometimes behaves quite irrationally." Neji intoned.

Nira, joined Tenten in rolling her eyes at the boy.

Leaving the training ground with Tenten, Nira asked "So do you really like him?"

"Well, he sometimes behaves like he's got a stick up his ass, but he's a genius, and he can be caring. He's a lot better since he got over his whole obsession with destiny and fate pity party because he's part of the branch house."

"So, is that a yes?"

"Um, I guess?" Changing the subject, Tenten asked "So when do you think Kiba's going to ask you out?"

* * *

><p>Nira woke up sore from her long spar with Neji and decided to familiarize herself with the forest surrounding Konoha instead of training that day. She and Kea set off, and Nira felt free. The simple smell of the forest was welcome after the sometimes overwhelming variety of scents that mingled in the village. There was no one to impress, no mission, just her and her dog.<p>

They watched the sun set from the top of a grassy hill. They were several miles from Konoha, and the woods were still calling to Nira, so she settled down for the night in the forest, Kea curled up next to her and keeping her warm. _I like Konoha, but I've missed this. _As the stars came out and twinkled, Nira watched them, counting until her eyelids drooped and she drifted gently to sleep, feeling secure with Kea by her side.

Waking as the sun began to peer over the horizon, Nira sighed happily. Maybe she should go back to the village, but it was too peaceful out here. _I'll just stay one more day out here, exploring and training with Kea. _The birds chirped and greeted the rising sun enthusiastically as the girl and her dog slipped through the shadows.


	12. return

Disclaimer: Nira and Kea are mine, but Naruto is not

* * *

><p>Nira stood in a gap in the trees, her face turned up to the sun's warm rays, soaking them up as Kea chased a rabbit. Suddenly Kea stopped mid-pursuit and turned into the breeze, nostrils flaring. Nira caught sight of the dog's movement out of the corner of her eye, and turned into the wind as well. <em>I smell blood and sweat, but I can't smell the people themselves yet. <em>She crept forwards cautiously, straining her eyes and ears. She heard the characteristic swish of ninja moving from tree to tree, but the smell of blood masked the smell of the people. _Are they Konoha shinobi or from somewhere else?_ _Surely if they were coming to attack the village they would have washed off the smell of blood. Right?_

As the two groups moved closer to each other, Nira was finally able to catch other scents: dog, lilac, face paint, cherry lollipop and metal. _It has to be Kiba's team! The dog would be Akamaru, the face paint is Kiba's, and Hinata smells like lilac. But who has the metallic scent, and that of a cherry lollipop?_ She moved to intercept. They did not notice her approach, as the wind was blowing towards her, and Hinata had not activated her Byakugan. She appeared from behind a tree and kunai appeared automatically, though Kiba and Hinata's were lowered immediately. _They look like crap. Hinata's limping, and Kiba's arm is in a sling. Akamaru has a mat of bloody fur on his side, and the jounin has a bandage taped over his left cheek. _The unfamiliar jounin with the metallic scent was more cautious, and demanded an explanation of who she was even though her Konoha forehead protector was in plain sight on her head before lowering his weapon slowly.

"What happened?" she asked, worry evident on her face.

"We were sent to retrieve Tasu," Kiba motioned to the little boy, barely a toddler, tied to his back that was contentedly sucking on a lollipop. "His mother had won the custody battle for him, but his father killed his mother and took off with him. We encountered resistance."

Nira's heart twinged at the thought that Tasu had lost his mother in the same way she had: at his father's hands. She shook herself out of her thoughts of the past, and forced herself to examine the team. Kiba, Hinata, Akamaru and the unfamiliar jounin were all sporting bandages, though the child seemed unharmed at least. Besides the entire team being injured, they seemed near exhaustion.

"Let me take him. I haven't had to fight." Nira told Kiba, gesturing to the toddler on his back.

Kiba handed him over, and leaned back against a tree gratefully. Nira took the child, gently settling him on her back, then finished her visual examination of the group. Their injuries weren't life-threatening, she decided, but the sooner they saw a medic the better.

The jounin looked at his team, ignoring Nira, and said "Let's move out." Kiba and Hinata were too tired to reply, just heaved themselves to their feet and followed him.

* * *

><p>Nira had been a little worried about Kiba, but he was released after getting his arm fixed by the medic with orders to go home and rest. Nira accompanied home, and when he stumbled from exhaustion, she slipped his good arm over her shoulder and supported him. When they reached the Inuzuka house, Kea scratched at the door, since her mistress had her hands full with Kiba. Puzzled by the scratch at the door and doggy whine, Kiba's mother came to the door. <em>All the dogs are here, who could be at the door?<em> She opened it to find her son, and the girl she had come to regard as his girlfriend. "I'm alright," Kiba hastily reassured her, seeing the worry on the older woman's face. "just tired." His mother led Nira to his room, where they placed him on the bed, his eyes already closing.

Closing the bedroom door, his mother asked the girl what had happened on the mission, and she explained, though she didn't have many details, just what the team had told her.

"I'm glad he's alright." His mother said once the story was done. "Thank you for bringing him back."

"You're welcome. I'm glad he's alright too. I was scared when I smelled so much blood."

His mother pulled her in for a comforting hug. Nira relaxed into her hug, reveling in the acceptance into Kiba's family. _Maybe Kiba wouldn't mind sharing his mom with me. I like her._

She was jostled out of her thoughts by a quiet question. "You really care about my boy don't you?"

Nira just nodded silently, not trusting her voice not to crack with emotion.

"He cares about you too."

Nira enjoyed the hug for another moment, then swiped tears from her face as she broke the hug. "I'd probably better get going. It's getting late."

"You're welcome to stay the night."

"I don't want to impose. Kea, where are you?" she called softly.

"She's probably still curled up on the floor of Kiba's room next to Akamaru."

Nira hadn't realized that Kea had stayed with the boys.

"I don't think Kea wants to leave, you should stay too." Nira gave in, and Kiba's mother led her to a guest room, conveniently right across the hall from Kiba's.

"Thanks. For everything."

Her face softened. "You're quite welcome. Good night."

She stretched out on the bed, thoughts focused on the boy in the room across the hall, and closed her eyes, a soft smile gracing her face.

In the hall Kiba's mother smiled at the thought of the girl Kiba talked of so often. _She will make a good daughter-in-law someday._


	13. invitation

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.

* * *

><p>Kiba woke and stretched, then realized that his arm was working properly again and did not hurt. <em>The medic did a good job. It feels good to be home again, to sleep in a real bed, to not have to worry about an ambush while I'm sleeping. <em>He sat up and looked beside his bed. He saw Akamaru curled up next to his bed where he always was, but today there was a large dark grey dog curled up with him. Kiba stared at them in confusion. _Kea? What is she doing here?_ _Is Nira still here?_ He stumbled down the stairs to find his mother in the kitchen. "Why is Kea here? Is Nira still here?"

"She was worried about you, it was late, and she was tired, so I told her she could stay the night." Her nose wrinkled as she caught his smell. "You might want to take a shower." She said pointedly.

Kiba realized that he was still wearing the clothes that he had worn on the mission, and that he still smelled like blood and sweat. Wordlessly, he headed for the shower.

When he finished his shower, he realized that he had forgotten to bring a change of clothes into the bathroom, since he had come from the kitchen. He wrapped a towel about his waist and peered out the door, and seeing no one in the hall, he headed for his room. Nira opened the door of the guest room as he made his way to his room and his clothes. He heard a muffled eep from Nira and saw her turn bright red as she tried not to stare at his toned bare chest. She hastily ducked back into the guest room and closed the door. _Oops._

Kiba's mother smothered a laugh. She had heard the shower shut off, two doors opening, an eep from the girl and a hastily shut door. _That would have been amusing to witness._ "Breakfast is ready," she called up the stairs.

Nira opened her door, though more cautiously this time. But there was no Kiba in a towel, so she headed for the kitchen, which was putting out an amazing smell.

She settled at the table with the plate of pancakes that Kiba's mother had handed her, and after a moment Kiba came down. He started in on the pancakes ravenously. Healings always made him hungry. Nira looked anywhere but at him, a slight blush still evident on her cheeks, and found a distraction in the form of the dogs coming down the stairs. Akamaru moved carefully, trying not to reopen his wound, and Kea padded down alongside him. She hadn't left his side since they had come back.

_I think Nira isn't the only one who fell for an Inuzuka._ Kiba's mother thought, watching the dogs, seeing Kea rub her muzzle against Akamaru's gently. _She would make a good mate for Akamaru. She's strong, loyal and a great tracker._

Nira ate quickly, then stood up and thanked Kiba's mother for her hospitality, but explained that she really ought to be going now.

"Come back any time. You're always welcome." Kiba's mother called after her.

Kiba caught her arm just as she opened the front door. He took a deep breath. "Hey, do you want to go to dinner tonight?"

Nira's eyes widened. "Like a date?"

"Yeah."

Her heart skipped a beat, or maybe two. "Sure."

"I'll pick you up at 7."

She smiled at him. "That would be great."

As she headed back to her apartment, she realized. _What do I have that I could wear on a date?_

* * *

><p><strong>An: The next chapter will probably be the last one. Just giving all my lovely readers a heads up. **


	14. date

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.

* * *

><p>Nira knocked on Temari's door and babbled "Kiba just asked me out on a date tonight, and I don't have anything to wear. Help!"<p>

"Finally! I thought he was _never_ going to ask you out. Don't worry about clothes. I'm sure we can find something. We should round up a few more of the girls to help. This will be fun. I don't think any of us has seen you in anything than your ninja outfit." She grabbed Nira's hand and dragged her out to look for Sakura and Tenten and Hinata. Ino was away on a mission, but as Temari explained, "I think your clothing style is a little different than hers anyways." Thinking about Ino's short skirt and shirt that exposed her belly, Nira had agreed with her. She would not be comfortable exposing that much skin. "I'm sure we can find you something to wear with a little more to it."

In the first shop, Sakura was adamant about Nira trying a dress that she claimed would look stunning on her, so she reluctantly entered the dressing room. Looking at herself in the mirror in the room, Nira gulped. "Do I really have to come out in this?" she pleaded.

"Come on out, you'll look great." Sakura encouraged.

But as Nira came out from the dressing room, the other girls were giggling. "Um, Sakura? I don't think pink and frilly works for me." After spending much of the day being dragged to various stores and being pumped for information about what had happened at Kiba's house, the outfit was decided on: a brown skirt with a ruffled edge that was almost knee-length, brown boots that came to mid-calf, and a soft, dark green blouse with long sleeves that had leaves embroidered on it. "The blouse really brings out your green eyes." Sakura remarked, having gotten over the "pink frills fiasco" as they were now calling it.

"I think Kiba will approve."

"Now time to do your hair!"

They didn't do much with Nira's hair, just freed it from its ponytail and braid, and let it hang to her waist in gentle black waves.

At 6:59, Kiba knocked on Nira's door, a single flower in his hand.

Nira opened her door to see Kiba standing there, wearing black pants and a deep red shirt, and holding a red thorn less rose in his hand.

He stared at her for a moment. "You look amazing."

She blushed slightly. "Thanks. You look good too."

He tucked the rose gently behind her ear, and her heart fluttered at his proximity, as did his. "Shall we go?"

They had dinner at a nice restaurant, a step up from a ramen stand, but not so fancy as to be stuffy. The table was small, so their knees were pressed together beneath the table. Kiba looked at the beautiful young woman smiling at him and wondered how he could have gotten so lucky, unaware that Nira was looking at him and asking herself the same thing.

After dinner was finished, they were both reluctant to let the night end, so Kiba invited her to come with him to his favorite star watching spot, and she happily accepted. As they walked, his hand stretched out, and their fingers interlaced. Their hands were both rough with callouses from weapons, but warm and gentle. As they settled on the grass to watch the stars, Nira rested her head on his shoulder, and his arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close.

When they kissed later that night, Kiba was a little hesitant at first, but warmed up quickly when Nira returned his kiss. The kiss was gentle and full of promise. A promise that they would always have each other.

**This is the end of the story. I hope you all enjoyed my first fan fic. If you liked it, I'm writing another one called Honey and the Bee, which is the story of Choji and a different OC, so look for it. **


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